Means for modifying sucker rod

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for removing a scraper apparatus from the outer peripheral wall surface of a sucker rod comprising pulling the rod through a die wherein the die has an inner surface which circumferentially and slidably surrounds a marginal exterior length of the rod so as to enable part of the die to abuttingly engage the scraper apparatus in a manner which strips the scraper free from the rod.

United States Patent 1 1 iglehart et al.

11] 3,750,261 1451 Aug. 7, 1973 MEANS FOR MODIFYING SUCKER ROD [75] Inventors: Jesse H. I glehart; Hilary H.

Iglehart, both of Odessa, TeX.

[73] Assignee: Rodeo, Inc., Odessa, Tex.

221 Filed: Aug. 9, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 170,110

52 user 29/427, 29/236, 29/401, 29/403, 225/93, 225/106 58 Field ofSearch 29/401,427, 236,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,650,0l2 3/l972 Graveman 29/403 Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-James R. Duzan Attorney-Marcus L. Bates 57 ABSTRACT 8 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENIEU 71973 3.750.261

' sum 2 or 2 FIG. 8

MEANS FOR MODIFYING SUCKER ROD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many oil wells have insufficient bottom hole pressure for causing the liquids therein to freely flow to the surface of the earth and for this reason a downhole reciprocating type production pump is employed in order to lift the fluid from the lower extremity of the borehole to the surface of the ground. Joints of sucker rod are made up into a string which extends from the surface to the production pump so as to enable a pump jack located at the surface of the ground to reciprocate the rod which in turn actuates the downhole production pump.

From time to time, for one reason or another, the rod must be removed from the borehole. Upon removal, the rod often is subjected to various analysis and tests, reconditioned, and returned to service.

Often pariffinic hydrocarbons precipitate or crystallize out within the production tubing and for this reason it is common to employ various types of scrapers on the exterior surface of the sucker rod. Those skilled in the art are familiar with scraper apparatus such as may be identified as the I-Iuber, Petco, Crall, or Sunshine (all trade names) scraper apparatus, for example. Throughout this disclosure the term scraper" is intended to relate to these and other types of scraper designs which lend themselves to use in conjunction with the present invention.

In order to properly examine and recondition sucker rod, it is necessary to remove the scraper apparatus therefrom, or otherwise the rod cannot be cleaned, surface hardened, magnifluxed, and repainted so as to positively ascertain its reliability for reuse. It is for this reason that the presence of the scraper on the old rod usually reduces it in value to junk.

It is therefore desirable to have a means by which the scraper on a sucker rod can be removed in a reliable, efficient, and low cost manner. Furthermore, such an expedient should be unharmful to the structural integrity of the sucker rod.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to method and apparatus for removing a scraper apparatus from the outer wall surface of sucker rod comprising removably attaching a rod tensioning or pulling means to one marginal end portion of a sucker rod and slidably attaching a die which is disposed adjacent to the tensioning means and to the scraper apparatus with the die enclosing most of a limited circumferentially extending lengthof the outer peripheral surface area of the rod. The die is moved relative to the rod and to the tensioning means with a vertical face of the die engaging the scraper apparatus and stripping the scraper therefrom.

Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is the provision of a new method of removing a scraper apparatus from the exterior surface of a sucker rod.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for removing a scraper device from the outer wall surface of a sucker rod.

A further object of this invention is to provide apparatus which enables a sucker rod to be pulled through a die to thereby remove material which is attached to the outer peripheral surface thereof.

A still further object of this invention is to disclose and provide means for removing scraper apparatus from a sucker rod wherein the rod is placed in tension by exerting a force upon part of the scraper apparatus and part of the rod and increasing the force until the scraper apparatus is forced to slide longitudinally off the rod.

These and various other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and claims and by referring to the accompanying drawings.

The above objects are attained in accordance with the present invention by the provision of a method for use with apparatus fabricated in a manner substantially as described in the above abstract and summary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I discloses a sucker rod of the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an idealized, part diagrammatical presentation of the essence of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of apparatus made in accordance with the present invention, with some parts being broken away and some of the remaining parts being shown in section;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the apparatus disclosed in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, enlarged, part crosssectional view of the apparatus seen in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the apparatus disclosed in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the apparatus disclosed in FIG. 8;

FIGS. 11 and 12 respectively, are cross-sectional views taken along lines 11-11, l2-I2 respectively, of FIG. 5;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged, part cross-sectional view which sets forth one of the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary view, similar to FIGS. 13 and 14, showing the apparatus in operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. I discloses a sucker rod 10, when can take on several different forms and which includes a marginal end portion ll, 12, fabricated in the usual manner so that the rod can be threadedly made up with similar rods into a string of sucker rod.

The right hand portion 13 of the sucker rod has a scraper apparatus 14 attached thereto by means of bands 16, with the fin portion of the scraper illustrated as being disposed in a spiral manner about the rod. The left hand side 15 of the rod has been cleaned of the scraper apparatus including the bands as well as the fin. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, band 16 is welded to the scraper tin, with the band being placed closely adjacent to the rod with a friction fit as those skilled in the art will appreciate.

FIG. 5 sets forth apparatus, made in accordance with the present invention, by which the method of the invention can be carried out. The apparatus includes a U-shaped channel 17 for bottom supporting rods to be processed. An elongated longitudinally extending main frame, generally indicated by the arrow at numeral 18, is preferably made of an I-I-channel steel member having adjustable journal means 20, 21 disposed at either end thereof, and a journal means 22 being disposed in underlying relationship thereto so as to enable sprockets to support and move an endless chain 23, 23' therebetween. The sprocket at is preferably utilized for driving the chain by means of the prime mover 19. At least one outwardly depending yoke 24 is attached to the chain by any suitable means, for a purpose which will be explained in detail later on in this disclosure.

Closely adjacent to table 17 is an anchoring means 25 which is adapted to removably receive plate 26 therein. The plate has a vertical slot formed therein through which sucker rod 15 can freely pass, including the upset or enlarged end portions 11 and 12. As best seen in FIG. 7, in conjunction with FIG. 8, the anchoring means includes spaced apart vertically disposed fore and aft dogs 28, 29 which preferably are welded to the vertical side walls of the I-I-frame, amd spaced apart from one another an amount which enables the vertical marginal edge portions of the plate to be slidably received therein, with the lower extremity of the plate bottoming upon the upper surface of the horizontal web portion of the elongated main frame member.

The horizontal web of the frame member is apertured to form slot 30 within which there is disposed one of the before mentioned sprockets 31 so as to enable the sprocket to guide the chain and yoke freely therethrough. The opposite end portion of the main frame must be provided with a similar aperture associated with journal means 20 and its associate sprocket.

Looking now to the details of FIG. 13, the segmented die 32 is seen to have a vertical face which abuts plate 26, with the inside peripheral wall surface of the split die slidably engaging the outer peripheral wall surface 39 of an intermediate portion of the rod. Upset 40 gently enlarges at 41 and presents an outwardly increasing diameter for forcing the jaws or segments of the die apart. Portion 42 of the rod conventionally presents a surface which can be engaged by a wrench. Enlargement 43 reduces in diameter into the threaded portion 44.

In FIG. 14, split die 132 is seen enclosing a marginal longitudinal portion of rod 39, with segment 45 of the die being attached to arm 46. Segment 47 is attached to arm 48 which in turn is attached to and forms part of a piston which is reciprocatingly received within the hydraulic cylinder 49. The cylinder includes an ear 50 which is apertured in the usual manner and attached to the main frame. Numeral 51 schematically illustrates inlet and outlet hydraulic flow conduits. At arm 46 there is disposed a hydraulic cylinder arrangement (not shown) similar to the one seen at 49. Looking now to FIG. 15 wherein there is disclosed the cleaned rod 15, the rod to be cleaned 13, the bands 16 to which there is attached the scraper fins l4, and a split die 132' which is attached to arms 46. Each arm transfers its load into a plate 126 which can be similar to the plate 26. Area 52 indicates the location where the bands and fins of the scraper are forced against face 132' of the die so as to slidably remove the unwanted scraper material from the rod.

In operation, the prime mover l9 imparts motion into the endless chain so as to cause the yoke to travel longitudinally of the main frame. This expedient enables the yoke to be positioned anywhere along the line of travel of the chain, as for example, into the illustrated position of FIG. 7. When it is desired to modify a rod by removing the scrapers thcrefrom, the individual rods are placed within the table 17, and the elevator 34 is attached to a marginal end portion thereof, either at area 41 or 42 as may be required. The elevator 34 is a commercially available apparatus known to those skilled in the art of sucker rod. However, it is also considered to be within the comprehension of this invention to utilize a lifting eye or the like in lieu of the elevators which can be threadedly made up with the threads 44. The bail 35 of the elevator is attached to yoke 24 and the prime mover l9 engaged sufficiently to position the rod relative to the die and anchoring means, in the illustrated manner of FIG. 15, for example.

As seen in FIG. 7, numeral diagrammatically illustrates the position of the rod with respect to the anchor means while FIG. 8 diagrammatically illustrates the position of the die. The oil spray 37 is energized, and the prime mover again engaged so as to move the yoke 24 towards journal means 20.

This action causes one face of the die to abut the plate 26, while the bands and scraper engage the die face 132' which exerts sufficient force to cause the bands to slide longitudinally along the outer peripheral surface of the rod in the illustrated manner of FIG. 4.

As the endless chain moves the yoke and elevator longitudinally of the main frame, the rod is pulled through the slot 27 and through the split die, causing the fins to be crumpled into a mass such as seen illustrated at l 14, for example. The yoke continues to move the elevators away from the die in the manner of FIG. 4 until the entire remainder of the rod has passed through the die, leaving the scraper material and die in proximity of the anchor assembly.

As the enlarged end of the rod approaches the die, as seen in FIG. 13, the contoured enlargement at 41 enables the segments of the split die to be forced laterally apart from one another while at the same time the entire mass of crumpled, bunched-up bands and scrapers are maintained engaged by the die, causing the material to be forced over the enlargement 40, over the enlargement 43, and off of the sucker rod.

Where the manually actuated hinged split die of FIG. 10 is used, the handles thereof will be forced apart as the upset portion of the rod passes therethrough. In this instance, the workman merely holds the die handles together with a constant force, with one face of the die being received in abutting relationship against the plate 26, while the opposed face of the die engages the scraper apparatus.

Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the die can be comprised of only the slotted hardened plate 26, however, it is preferred to utilize a slot 27 which is sufficiently large to permit the entire rod to pass therethrough, with the segmented die being maintained positioned by the plate so as to completely strip the scraper from the rod in the manner illustrated in FIG. 8.

The hydraulically actuated segments of the die are moved apart by the piston 48 a sufficient amount to enable the enlargement at the leading end of the rod to pass therethrough. The hydraulic pressure preferably is thereafter maintained at a regulated value which maintains the internal jaws of the die pressed against the external surface of the rod with a constant force. The amount of friction developed between the jaw and the rod is minimized by the lubricant provided by the oil spray. Furthermore, the oil spray reduces the power required to move the bands 16 longitudinally along the rod, and prevents damage to the external surface of the rod. Those skilled in the art will realize that resilient biasing means rather than hydraulically actuated means can be employed in lieu of the assembly seen at 49, if desired.

I claim:

1. Method of removing a scraper apparatus from the outer wall surface of a sucker rod comprising the steps of:

l. removably attaching a rod pulling means to a marginal end portion of a sucker rod wherein the rod has a scraper apparatus attached thereto;

2. slidably enclosing a limited length of the outer peripheral wall surface of the rod with a die which is positioned adjacent to and between said rod pulling means and said scraper apparatus;

3. moving said rod pulling means relative to said die to cause the rod to be pulled through the die while the scraper is removed by said die;

4. carrying out step (3) by moving the rod pulling means while the die is held stationary.

2. The method set forth in claim 1 and further including the step of:

5. carrying out step (2) by arranging the die into segments, and moving the segments away from each segments of the split die laterally of the rod so as to enable the segments to move apart as the enlarged end portion of the rod passes therethrough.

5. Apparatus for removing a scraper device from the intermediate marginal longitudinally extending peripheral wall surface of a sucker rod;

said apparatus including elevator means for engaging a marginal end portion of the sucker rod; die means for engaging a marginal intermediate portion of the rod, and means for moving said elevator means relative to said die means;

said die means being made into a plurality of segments, biasing means for enabling movement of one segment relative to another and laterally of the sucker rod so as to cause said segments to be forced to move apart as the enlarged marginal end portion of the rod passes therethrough;

whereby; said elevator means and said die means can be moved relative to one another so as to enable the die means to be moved relative to the outer peripheral surface of the rod and to remove the scraper therefrom.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 and further including an elongated frame member, a prime mover, means by which said elevator is moved longitudinally along said frame member by said prime mover; and

anchor means connected to said frame for preventing said die to move longitudinally of said frame; whereby;

said elevator means moves the rod relative to the frame member and pulls the rod through the die.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said biasing means includes a hydraulically actuated cylinder.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein:

said anchor means includes a plate member; spaced apart dogs affixed to said frame member and adapted to removably receive said plate member therein; said plate member having a slot formed therein through which the entire rod can pass; and said die having a vertical face which is abuttingly received by said plate member. 

1. Method of removing a scraper apparatus from the outer wall surface of a sucker rod comprising the steps of:
 1. removably attaching a rod pulling means to a marginal end portion of a sucker rod wherein the rod has a scraper apparatus attached thereto;
 2. slidably enclosing a limited length of the outer peripheral wall surface of the rod with a die which is positioned adjacent to and between said rod pulling means and said scraper apparatus;
 3. moving said rod pulling means relative to said die to cause the rod to be pulled through the die while the scraper is removed by said die;
 4. carrying out step (3) by moving the rod pulling means while the die is held stationary.
 2. slidably enclosing a limited length of the outer peripheral wall surface of the rod with a die which is positioned adjacent to and between said rod pulling means and said scraper apparatus;
 2. The method set forth in claim 1 and further including the step of:
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein step (2) is carried out by attaching the rod pulling means to a marginal length of an endless chain, arranging the endless chain longitudinally of the rod, and, moving the chain so as to move the rod through the die.
 3. moving said rod pulling means relative to said die to cause the rod to be pulled through the die while the scraper is removed by said die;
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein step (2) is carRied out by splitting a die into segments; and, moving the segments of the split die laterally of the rod so as to enable the segments to move apart as the enlarged end portion of the rod passes therethrough.
 4. carrying out step (3) by moving the rod pulling means while the die is held stationary.
 5. carrying out step (2) by arranging the die into segments, and moving the segments away from each other to thereby enable any enlargement on the rod to pass therethrough.
 5. Apparatus for removing a scraper device from the intermediate marginal longitudinally extending peripheral wall surface of a sucker rod; said apparatus including elevator means for engaging a marginal end portion of the sucker rod; die means for engaging a marginal intermediate portion of the rod, and means for moving said elevator means relative to said die means; said die means being made into a plurality of segments, biasing means for enabling movement of one segment relative to another and laterally of the sucker rod so as to cause said segments to be forced to move apart as the enlarged marginal end portion of the rod passes therethrough; whereby; said elevator means and said die means can be moved relative to one another so as to enable the die means to be moved relative to the outer peripheral surface of the rod and to remove the scraper therefrom.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 and further including an elongated frame member, a prime mover, means by which said elevator is moved longitudinally along said frame member by said prime mover; and anchor means connected to said frame for preventing said die to move longitudinally of said frame; whereby; said elevator means moves the rod relative to the frame member and pulls the rod through the die.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said biasing means includes a hydraulically actuated cylinder.
 8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein: said anchor means includes a plate member; spaced apart dogs affixed to said frame member and adapted to removably receive said plate member therein; said plate member having a slot formed therein through which the entire rod can pass; and said die having a vertical face which is abuttingly received by said plate member. 